First trip done....next ? Vacation

My first 4 day trip as a commuter is done. It was pretty easy. Most legs per day was scheduled for 4 but ended up being just 2. It helped that I was flying with a Captain I knew and got a long with well.

With the crazy fronts passing over the United States we both had our share of gusty approaches including one with a 30 knot direct crosswind.

The only interesting parts of the trip were the constant flight attendant changes. Every time we entered a HUB we would get a new flight attendant.

I've said it before and I will continue saying it. Flight Attendants are a vital part of the crew. I'm a little more relaxed knowing I have a competent and ready flight attendant in the cabin.

When I was first hired I liked having younger Flight Attendants on board as I thought I could relate to them easier. Eh. The younger/more junior Flight Attendants are, for the most part, not as customer focused as the older/senior  Flight Attendants. Now a days I want a Senior Mama (term for Flight Attendants that have been around for a while) on board. I know a Senior Mama won't be texting her friends during boarding or refuse to do a service on a 25 minute flight. When I have a Senior Mama on board the passengers tend to leave happy regardless of how bad the weather, delay or flight was.

I had a mix of Senior Mamas and Junior Flight Attendants on my 4 day. The last one was a very nice little older lady who has been with my airline for 15 years, but a Flight Attendant for "only" 5 years. She reminded me of my Grandmother. Passengers were happy and I was content knowing she was in control on the cabin.

My 4 day finished at 11:30AM. I was able to hop on a 12:30PM flight home. Not too shabby.

So what's next? I'm off till April 22nd. I used strategic vacation bidding to use 7 vacation days and get 15 days off. I only get paid for 7 of them though, but the extra time off will be nice.